Seth t



(No Model.)

s. T, SMITH. HITCHING STRAP HOLDER.

No. 489,438. Patented Jan. 3, 1893.

it. iv-to rwey UNITE STATES PATENT @FFECE.

SETH T. SMITH, OF VIROQUA, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO H. P.

. PROOTOR, OF SAME PLACE.

HITCHING-STRAP HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 489,438, dated January 3, 1893. Application filed September 27, 1890. Serial No. 366,313. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, SETH T. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Viroqua,in the county of Vernon and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hitching-Strap Holders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device as applied in use. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail in perspective of the holder detached. Fig. 3 is a side elevation. Fig. 4 is a like view from the opposite end, the hitching strap being applied in place.

This invention belongs to the class of hitching strap or halter holders and its object is to present a device that will hold the end of the hitching strap or halter firm and secure without the delay or bother of tying and untying. And the said invention, therefore, consists in providing, at any suitable place or point on the harness of a horse, a spring tongue or clamp to and under which the hitching strap or halter can be placed by merely presenting its edge under the arm or loops of the spring, and then pressing it home to its proper seat or position,where it will be securely held but so as to be readily detached when desired.

The ease and facility with which the strap is secured to the clamp or spring, or released, and the security of its being held when under the spring and the durability of the spring render it a very desirable device for all drivers who need to hitch the horse whenever the carriage or team is stopped.

The device is made quite ornamental, so that when secured to the harness it is a desirable addition and beautifies it.

In the accompanying drawings A denotes this attachment or hitching strap holder. It may be fastened on the back strap of the harness, as now shown, or to any other part of the harness or on a saddle. It is made of a small, fiat piece of metal I) and a bent wire a secured upon its top by soldering its ends thereto. The loop is formed by doubling the wire upon itself and then bending or rolling the doubled portion into a fiat double coil or ring, with the free end of the wire extending back beyond the coil. By this means the tongue cl is formed out of the doubled end of the wire and any sharp corners are thereby avoided and it is also caused to project forward under the upper portion d, whereby there is a continuous'curve e at the rear of the coil which will permit of the strap being slipped under the tongue by simply slipping it forward underthe coil. The extension of the ends of the wire back of the coil permits of the strap being placed upon them and then slipped in under the coil without striking any projections or obstructions as would be the case if the ends of the wire were not thus extended. This construction is so made as to insure that the tongue d, which is quite a stiff spring, shall come down quite close to the ends a of the wire and form a clamp or detaining spring. These endscare above the top surface of the plate 6 and perform the office of corrugations. If desired the piece I), could be corrugated and then the long ends 0 could be dispensed with and the wire secured nearly at the front of the plate. In order to secure the device to the harness, I have shown the plate provided with a hole at each end, through which rivets or any other desired means may be passed for securing it to the strap of the harness, as the strain upon the device is in a lateral direction it is necessary to secure both ends of the device to the harness to prevent it from swinging around by the strain upon the strap and thereby preventing the insertion or removal of the strap.

In adjusting the end of the hitching strap E under the re-entrant tongue (1, one edge is offered to the rear of the loop and it is then very easily pressed back its whole width under 0 the tongue. It is here held sufficiently secure to prevent its displacement under any ordinary circumstances. The free end of the strap can be turned between the bend at and tongue 01', as shown in Fig. 4. The peculiar structure of this spring afiords a tongue or clamp of great strength to hold the end of the hitching strap, while at the same time there is allowed the easiest means for placing the end of the strap in it or removing it therefrom. There I00 is also no projecting point on which the finger can catch, the rounded end of the tongue be- 2. A hitching strap holder, comprising a flat sheet metal base having a hole at each end is for securing it in place, and a wire loop secured thereto, said loop being doubled upon itself and bent into a fiat double coil, and secured at its ends to the plate and base, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SETH T. SMITH.

Witnesses:

O. R. SKAAR, J. A. COWAN. 

